Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #525 Review

Black Panther squares off with the Kingpin.

With issue #525 of Black Panther, T'Challa officially becomes "The Most Dangerous Man Alive" instead of living with Daredevil's old moniker (last issue didn't feature the subtitle). Ironically, Black Panther has instead inherited a host of Daredevil's villains – Kingpin, Lady Bullseye, and Typhoid Mary. While it's a bit disheartening to see writer David Liss halt the progress of creating a Panther-specific rogues gallery, his method of tying Kingpin and the Hand to Wakanda is a nice touch that gives their appearances a specific spin that is unique to the starring character.

The issue is very direct in its structure with Panther moving from point A to point B in an effort to protect Kingpin's latest victim, all the while encountering the aforementioned foes. Liss goes a little heavy on Panther's inner monologue at times, over explaining what we can clearly see happening on the page, but for the most part he allows artist Shawn Martinbrough to dictate the action while providing supplementary character-centric commentary.

Unfortunately, the artwork is where this book falters. Martinbrough's penciling style and layouts are a perfect fit for this book, but his sometimes uneven inks and the flat, heavy, unflattering colors of Felix Serrano are a huge detriment to the overall presentation. The colors distract heavily from the great composition and character work that Martinbrough delivers, either obfuscating details or simply make the entire page muddy. They're uneven, too – they range from glossy to gritty seemingly on a whim, making the art of the book even less cohesive.

I'm loving Black Panther's new role as he bashes heads with classic Daredevil villains, but this book desperately needs some synchronization amongst the art team to get lift off.